'Can't keep making money with Chinese raw materials while soldiers are killed'

New Delhi: Calling for unity among industrialists to stop imports from China, JSW Group owner Sajjan Jindal on Monday said that the business cannot go as usual while Indian soldiers get killed at the LAC by the Chinese.

On Thursday, his son, Parth Jindal, who looks after the cement business of the $14-billion JSW Group, had said that the conglomerate would stop $400 million worth of annual imports from China in the next 24 months.

Referring to the recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley, Sajjan Jindal said the action is a result of what China did on Indian soil.

In a statement, Sajjan Jindal said, “We cannot keep making money by buying cheaper Chinese raw materials for our business while our soldiers are getting killed at the LAC (Line of Actual Control) by them.”

He said that a lot of his friends and co-industrialists are upset as their business with China is important to maintain healthy margins and continuity, but this situation has come because of “our complacency in blindly accepting cheaper imports from China rather than developing our own domestic vendors”.

The industrialist further said that this is an opportunity for all to come together and push for a stronger Atmanirbhar Bharat.

“Let us support our domestic producers in achieving quality and scale. We have to show loyalty to our own products. We have to support our armed forces and government and prove that we stand with them in this fight against Chinese,” he added.

A company official had last week estimated that over 70-80 percent of imports for the $14-billion JSW Group take place for its steel and energy businesses, which includes machinery and maintenance equipment.